6.1. Configuring xdm and kdm

If everything is working now, it's time to setup the automatic starting of X on all displays. For xdm and kdm you have to modify one single file. For a Red Hat-like system this would be /etc/X11/xdm/Xservers; for other distributions check whether this file exists. If not, find your XFree86 configuration directory, and in it you'll find xdm/Xservers.

Note

SuSE uses:

/etc/X11/XF86Config

/etc/X11/xdm/Xservers for xdm

/etc/opt/kde3/share/config/kdm/Xservers for kdm

you can make a backup copy of /etc/opt/.../kdm/Xservers and make a symbolic link from /etc/X11/xdm/Xservers to /etc/opt/../kdm/Xservers, in order to use the same configuration file for xdm and kdm.

Debian uses:

/etc/kde3/kdm/Xservers for kdm

you can make a backup copy of /etc/kde3/kdm/Xservers and make a symbolic link from /etc/X11/xdm/Xservers to /etc/kde3/kdm/Xservers, in order to use the same configuration file for xdm and kdm.

Red Hat and Gentoo use:

/etc/X11/XF86Config

For every additional X server you should add a single line. You can copy the existing line, change the X server binary and display number, and append -xf86config [your configuration file]. My original xdm/Xservers:

#####################################################################
# $XConsortium: Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.3 93/09/28 14:30:30 gildea Exp $
#
#
# $XFree86: xc/programs/xdm/config/Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.1.1.1.12.2 1998/10/04 15:23:14 hohndel Exp $
#
# Xservers file, workstation prototype
#
# This file should contain an entry to start the server on the
# local display; if you have more than one display (not screen),
# you can add entries to the list (one per line). If you also
# have some X terminals connected which do not support XDMCP,
# you can add them here as well. Each X terminal line should
# look like:
# XTerminalName:0 foreign
#
:0 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X :0 -deferglyphs 16 vt7
######################################################################

and the modified version:

######################################################################
# $XConsortium: Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.3 93/09/28 14:30:30 gildea Exp $
#
#
# $XFree86: xc/programs/xdm/config/Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.1.1.1.12.2 1998/10/04 15:23:14 hohndel Exp $
#
# Xservers file, workstation prototype
#
# This file should contain an entry to start the server on the
# local display; if you have more than one display (not screen),
# you can add entries to the list (one per line). If you also
# have some X terminals connected which do not support XDMCP,
# you can add them here as well. Each X terminal line should
# look like:
# XTerminalName:0 foreign
#
:0 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X0 :0 -deferglyphs 16 vt7
:1 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X1 :1 -xf86config /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.TNT2 vt17
#######################################################################